


Scientific Method

by Kiffers



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Character Death, Homeworld is Horrible, OC gems - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-16 02:44:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14802858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiffers/pseuds/Kiffers
Summary: A Homeworld Peridot discovers something interesting about pearls and decides to do a little digging.





	1. Observation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PTlikesTea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PTlikesTea/gifts).



> Another story inspired by PTlikesTea's work.
> 
> I highly suggest you read [A String of Pearls](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5097932/chapters/32240997) before beginning this story. At least chapter 10, so you know kind of what is going on here. [Scraps](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14437218) would also likely be a good read for this story, and it is just a one-shot.
> 
> If you enjoy what I've written here, I'd suggest just browsing through PTlikesTea's works. They've got some really interesting ideas on Homeworld and Pearls.
> 
> Let me know what you think!

Peridot enjoyed observing the world around her.

Rather… enjoyed wasn’t quite the right word. It was more like she felt compelled to catalog and note every aspect of that which surrounded her.

Perhaps that was why she found her designated “role”, as it were, to be so restrictive. Overseeing the progress of repairs for fleet ships simply did not sate her curiosity.

Really, the process of slipping between the cracks of Homeworld’s watchful eye was so simple. Any gem worth her cut could have easily done so had she the desire. It was just a matter of hacking into the holo-network database of all gems currently active under the Diamond Authority, locating her facet and cut in the system, then deleting any record of her existence. Peridot might daresay that she could have made quite a lavish lifestyle for herself, had she decided to provide a similar service for other gems interested in escaping the records of the Diamond Authority.

Not that she had any desire to help other gems that way.

Still, that did not mean she was hurting for creature comforts. Once Peridot decided to explore and poke around a bit more within the planet-wide network of digital data, she found that many gems were _quite_ careless with what they logged into the system and how they went about hiding it.

Blackmail truly worked wonders for convincing other gems to pay up here and there. After all, everyone had secrets to hide, from the lowliest rubies to even Yellow Diamond… not that Peridot would ever dare to reveal what she had discovered by hacking into the Diamond Terminals. No amount of anonymity would be able to protect her should she let out even the slightest hint of what she knew from digging around in _those_ databanks.

For a time, Peridot was content with finding out the dirty secrets of both the underworld and aristocracy of Homeworld alike and exploiting them to suit her needs. With what she had learned and what she had made from threatening to spill the most intimate knowledge of other gems, Peridot was quite comfortable in her loft just outside one of the central plazas in the main city. However, eventually her research began to grow repetitive. It seemed that she had already learned most of the truly enticing information Homeworld had to offer. There simply wasn’t anything new to find out from the gems around her.

It was while she was performing some routine maintenance on her limb enhancers—after having removed the tracking devices from them the damned devices tended to glitch more frequently than she would like—and half-listening to a data log between a Hematite and a Larimar that she heard something of interest.

Blinking, Peridot shifted her full attention to the holo-screen in front of her.

_“—else am I supposed to do, Lari?” Hematite growled, throwing up her arms._

_“Get_ rid _of it. Have it processed, let it get stolen in one of the squares, I honestly don’t care. I just want it gone,” the Larimar replied, huffing. When the Hematite didn’t seem impressed, the Larimar changed up her tactic, simpering and hanging off of Hematite’s arm. “It makes me terribly uncomfortable, dearest. I can’t stand to be around it.”_

_“Tch. You’re not the only one. But I can’t just get rid of it. You know how the crowds love it. That pearl is responsible for nearly two-thirds of our revenue!”_

_The Larimar pouted harder. “I can’t believe you care about that… that_ thing _more than me!”_

_Hematite sighed. “You know that’s not true.”_

_“Then get rid of it! That pearl is nothing but a monstrous killing machine. I swear, I once saw it smile while it shattered a Fluorite. It_ likes _killing.”_

_“You know that’s not true either. Pearls don’t feel anything, Lari,” the ebony gem replied. She wasn’t very convincing though, because Larimar circled her arms around Hematite’s waist, and when she next spoke, her words shook with fear._

_“I swear I can feel its eyes on me when I’m not looking at it. It’s going to turn on us and shatter us too.”_

_“Orthoclase has assured me that won’t happen.”_

_Larimar shook her head. “I don’t think she knows what she’s talking about.” However, seeing that Hematite wasn’t budging on the issue, Larimar pulled away from the other gem and crossed her arms above her chest. “Fine, don’t listen. But I’m not sticking around just for that thing to shatter me.”_

Peridot hummed thoughtfully as she turned away from the holo-screen and back to her limb enhancers. She was surprised this was the first she was learning of some killer combat pearl. Then again, Peridot had never held much interest for the black market fighting leagues. More often than not, they involved gems that didn’t really have any secrets worthy of blackmail. After all, punishment for underground arena matches wasn’t typically anything more than a hundred cycles in isopod, and even that was a bit extreme.

Still, a pearl that could fight? Peridot had never seen any data that even hinted such a thing was possible. Yet the Hematite and Larimar spoke about it as though it wasn’t just a fighter, but a dangerous one at that. Curious. Perhaps Peridot would have to schedule a visit to watch one of the pearl’s arena matches.

* * *

 

For an underground league that had somehow managed to avoid detection for orbits, the arena was ridiculously easy to locate. Granted, Peridot supposed it helped that she could easily track Hematite by hacking into Homeworld’s observation systems. Now that she was there, Peridot still felt that it should have been found and shut down just from the sheer number of gems present to watch. She knew for a fact that most of them would likely run their mouths about it the second they could. More likely than not, Hematite had paid off the right gems to keep her illegal operation running.

The crowd was mainly composed of lower-caste gems. Rubies, Amethysts, Jaspers, and Citrines filled the stands. More than a few Fluorites dotted the audience as well. Here and there, Peridot could spy a Larimar or Lapis Lazuli, usually hanging off the arm of another gem. There were no other Peridots, which did not surprise her. This was not something Peridots were designed to have any interest in.

The first few rounds in the ring were rather droll. Mainly just quartzes fighting each other, or a quartz against a team of rubies. Each fight was incredibly predictable, and Peridot lost what little intrigue she had, especially when every match ended in the loser being poofed. Eventually, she simply began going through some notes on a screen projected between her “fingers”.

It wasn’t until the gems around her began to grow agitated and let out more unintelligible shouts that Peridot returned her attention to the arena.

A pearl stood off to the side. It was quite possibly dressed in the frilliest outfit Peridot had ever seen on one. She frowned, unimpressed. _This_ was what she had left her quarters for?

On the opposite side of the cage, an amethyst stood. She was as impressive as any quartz. Peridot couldn’t make out expressions from her position near the back of the crowd, but the amethyst was pumping her arms, exciting the crowd.

A signal announced the match start. The amethyst literally shot toward the pearl, her form nothing but a blur of lavender hair. To Peridot’s surprise, the pearl easily danced out of the way. She saw something briefly flash in the pearl’s hand, and in the next moment the pearl was clinging to the quartz and driving its arm down toward the gem on her hip.

There was a flash of dust which settled to reveal the pearl standing among gleaming purple shards. The fight had lasted all of five seconds.

Peridot stared, slack-jawed at the sight. She hadn’t actually _believed_ Hematite and Larimar’s conversation about a murderous pearl. Pearls weren’t supposed to be capable of such a thing.

The Citrine next to her chuckled and nudged her. “First time watching the Murder Pearl fight? First time I saw it, I thought I’d cracked my gem and was hallucinating. It’s undefeated, you know.”

Peridot ignored her. Instead, she managed to push her way through the crowd up to the side of the cage. It crackled and buzzed with electricity. A destabilization field around the arena?

A bit of metal caught her attention. A crooked nail lay among the broken shards. Peridot tilted her head, mind quickly doing the math. The pearl had shattered amethyst by driving the nail into a weak point on her gem. “Curious.”

Peridot looked up, and her breath caught in her throat. The pearl was staring directly at her. Then, for the tiniest moment, she observed a ghost of a smile flicker across the pearls face. It was gone so fast Peridot wasn’t sure if it had been there in the first place, and then the pearl was looking away.

“Very curious.”

* * *

 

Peridot rode a one of the transit vehicles back toward her home, lost in thought. She had never thought much about pearls. She’d never seen the appeal of owning one, as they didn’t serve much of a purpose outside of being a way to flaunt one’s wealth. Any of their functions could be accomplished to an equal if not better degree by Homeworld’s advanced technology.

Other pearls sat silently at their owners’ sides among the seats, and Peridot found her eyes drawn to them. They did not move nor show any indication that they felt or thought of anything besides the desires of their owners.

If the pearl in the ring had just killed the amethyst, then Peridot could have easily written it off. After all, a pearl was programmed to follow any and all orders issued to it by its owner, even if those orders were something gruesome like “shatter gems”. But Peridot was positive that the pearl had smiled at her. It didn’t unnerve her like it did Hematite’s Larimar, but it was a conundrum.

Pearls weren’t supposed to be capable of independent thoughts or emotions. Yet it had _smiled_.

Her eyes continually fell to the pearls on the seats beside their owners. Their faces were blank. They didn’t do anything.

She frowned. Of course they didn’t have emotions. It was a ridiculous thought. They were just _pearls_.


	2. Question

Cycles passed, and Peridot found herself unable to concentrate. Her mind kept drifting back to the small satisfied smile the pearl had worn. It was impossible, yet she was certain of it. Peridot did not make mistakes, and her mind did not fabricate anything that was not fact. If she thought she saw the pearl smile, then it had smiled.

It grated at her nerves, that she couldn’t figure out how it was possible. She had poured through any and all notes she could find on pearls since the fight, even those restricted to all but those with the highest clearance, yet she turned up nothing to suggest that pearls felt.

Then, one orbit while she was out walking in the plaza, she caught sight of a pearl dispensary, and she had an epiphany.

“Research,” Peridot muttered. “I need to perform my own tests and observations. Clearly, everyone else on this miserable rock is incapable of performing even a semi-competent study on the matter.”

She made her way into the shop and began inspecting the models being offered. A Jade stepped out from behind a counter and fell in line with her. “Hope you’re not desperate enough to try to steal one right from the shelves,” she said, crossing her arms and glaring at Peridot.

The lighter green gem lofted a brow. “I have no intention to steal one. I intend to purchase one.”

Jade snorted, “Yea right. A Peridot with a pearl?”

“If you do not want me to inform the Almandine who runs this merchant district you’ve been modifying older model pearls and selling them as new models in your shop, you will keep your opinions about my gem to yourself,” Peridot said absentmindedly, eyes sweeping over the offered pearls.

The Jade choked and her eyes bugged out at the peridot. “Wh—how in Core’s name do you know about that? Who are you?”

Peridot didn’t even bother looking at her. “I’m a Peridot, obviously. Now, point me to one of the pearls that are _actually_ a new model. I don’t care about its aesthetics or functions. I just don’t want one that will start glitching a few cycles from now.”

Jade eventually led her toward the back of the store, where a few pearls were lines up on shelves set into the wall. Obviously, they would remain destabilized until they were purchased, so potential owners could only go by the color of the gem and the holo-screens projecting images of the type of pearl.

Peridot finally found a new aqua-tinted pearl that wasn’t ridiculously priced. “This one will do fine,” she said, seemingly bored with the entire affair.

“S-Sure thing,” Jade said, taking the pearl down. Her voice betrayed that she was still shaken up by what Peridot had said earlier. “All outfits are half-priced with purchase of a pearl. Otherwise, it will form in the sheer gowns all pearls are packed with.”

Peridot didn’t like the idea of owning a pearl still wearing its base clothes. Not so much because she minded, but because it would draw the attention of other gems. After all, typically only barracks pearls remained in the sheer gowns, and those only because the outfits were often discarded the moment the pearl entered the barracks. “Very well, place an outfit with it then. I don’t care what, or even if it matches.”

Jade seemed a bit surprised by the statement, but quickly shrugged it off and chose something for the pearl. Peridot didn’t even bother checking it. She paid the credits—a hefty sum by anyone’s standards, but worth it if her research proved fruitful—and was handed the pearl.

She kept it wrapped in a thin sheet of lead to keep it from forming until she returned to her loft. After all, if she wanted to conduct proper research on the matter, she would have to control all aspects of the experiment as best she could.

The question then: could pearls feel and think for themselves?

Peridot slid the lead paper away from the gem and set it in her rest pod, taking a seat in a chair opposite the pod. She pulled up a holo-screen, waiting for her new purchase to reform.

Shortly after setting the gem down, it shown with a faint blue light and a blank gem surrounded it. It took no time to form. The pearl had alabaster skin and mint green eyes. Its hair was a dark blue-green, swept back into a braid down its back. It was, of course, wearing the standard sheer gown every pearl formed with.

Peridot made a few notes on its appearance, then tossed it the data stick Jade had given her containing the outfit. The pearl downloaded the information, then shifted its form so that it was wearing the attire. A sleeveless top wrapped around its chest, accompanied by a sheer pair of billowing pants.

She observed the pearl for nearly a quadrant, expecting it to do or say something. It seemed, however, that the pearl would merely look back at her, a blank look on its face. Peridot frowned—she’d never interacted with or paid much attention to pearls before, thus she had no idea what to actually _do_ with one. Eventually, her patience began to wear, and she snapped, “Do something.”

“What would you like me to do?” the pearl replied immediately.

Peridot flapped her hand dismissively. “It’s not about what I want. Do something _you_ want to do.”

The room was silent for a moment. “I do not understand,” Pearl eventually said.

The green gem sighed. That was to be expected. Perhaps she should start smaller. “I want you to perform a task in this room. I want you to decide what task to perform.” There. That ought to make a bit more sense, while still allowing the Pearl to make a choice for itself.

Pearl’s face remained blank. “Which task would you like me to choose.”

Another sigh. “Recede into your gem until I call for you.” This command Pearl obeyed immediately, and Peridot was left alone in her room.

She wrote down her notes on the encounter, then leaned back in her chair and hummed. “This is going to be a bit more difficult than initially thought.”

* * *

 

After thirty-seven more failed attempts to get the pearl to act on its own, without even a hint of it showing any signs of independency, Peridot realized she would have to rework her strategy.

Rather than trying to coax it into thinking for itself, Peridot thought she might have a better chance at getting it to show emotion if she gave it tasks that were uncomfortable or upsetting by any gem’s standards.

“Pearl, come out here,” Peridot called. The other gem immediately reformed, exactly as she’d looked that first time. After carefully removing her lower set of limb enhancers to avoid damaging them, Peridot said, “Rub my feet for me, Pearl.” It was the first official command Peridot had bothered to issue to the pearl since purchasing it.

The servant immediately complied, and Peridot watched its face carefully for any signs that it wasn’t pleased with the task. Much to her dismay, the pearl remained blank. It _did_ give a very good massage though.

The next cycle, Peridot tried again. “Pearl, I want you to balance on your nose without falling over.” Surely _that_ would at least warrant a strange look or a bit of hesitation from the pearl.

Sadly no. Pearl fell to its hands and knees, then braced itself until it was held up only by its nose, which had squashed quite uncomfortably to the side. To Peridot’s surprise, Pearl was able to hold the position for three quadrants before the green gem finally ordered it to dematerialize. The pearl never once batted an eye at the strange order.

After doing a bit more research, Peridot was able to find out that pearls had a strange aversion to items being place in their mouths. It became more apparent if they were made to swallow said item. Peridot had never actively seen such a phenomenon and was interested to test the validity of the claims made on message boards. Some suggested it to be a failsafe written in the owner’s manual, but Peridot had poured over the book front to back, and there was no mention of such an override.

She had purchased a compound mix that would give a gem an energy boost if ingested for just this purpose—Peridot had no interest in the chemicals herself. “Pearl, come out here.”

The servant formed, its appearance unchanged from when Peridot had last seen it three cycles ago. She beckoned Pearl closer, and only when the gem was within arm’s reach did Peridot lift up the mixture. “Pearl, I am commanding you to take a sip of this.”

As the message boards had stated, Pearl immediately clamped its lips shut and turned its head away. Peridot hummed. “One sip. If you do, I will reward you for being a good pearl.”

Its lips remained sealed.

“If you do not sip this compound mixture, I will take you to the processing plant and buy myself a new pearl.”

Pearl didn’t move, only kept its lips locked together and its head turned away. Peridot sighed. “Dematerialize.”

Once she was alone, Peridot set aside the compound mixture and recorded all of her notes for the cycle. She supposed she should have been pleased that the Pearl had displayed some sort of independence by refusing the order, but if anything, it only provided _more_ questions.

Nearly all of Peridot’s time over the following thirty cycles was spent trying different methods to get the pearl to show anything besides its perpetual blankness. So far, the only success she had had was when trying to force the pearl to ingest a substance. All of her attempts to figure _that_ puzzle out led to nothing, to her annoyance, so she dropped the consumption strategy.

The pearl was currently standing in the corner as Peridot fiddled with a gem destabilizer she had purchased on the black market. One of the filaments was busted, but if she could repair it, Peridot would have an actual functioning destabilizer—a weapon reserved typically for quartz patrol squadrons or scouting parties.

Normally, Peridot would keep the pearl in its gem at all times unless she was performing a test. Complete control of all known factors was necessary for experimentation, after all. Given the lackluster results though, she decided that today she would allow the pearl to remain conscious for the cycle and would let it do as it wished.

Peridot observed the pearl from the corner of her eye as she worked on the weapon. It had been six quadrants, and the pearl hadn’t moved. It hardly blinked, for that matter.

A tiny click sounded from the weapon, and it burst to life, fizzing with crackling electricity. Peridot grinned, delighted, then pressed a button on the side of the weapon to turn it off.

“What do you think of that?” Peridot asked the pearl, trying to gauge its reaction.

“You are very intelligent and capable to be able to repair such a complex device.”

Peridot puffed up with pride at the praise, which quickly soured when she recalled that pearls were literally made to make their owners feel better.

A thought occurred to her, and she switched the weapon on and approached the servant. She leveled the weapon at it, hoping to see something—anything! Alas, the pearl just stared back at her blankly. Annoyed, Peridot stuck the end of the weapon into Pearl’s mass. It split into jagged yellow lines, then destabilized. The gem clinked as it fell to the floor.

By the next cycle, Peridot had finally come to a decision. She had tried every possible scenario she could think of to get the pearl to show emotion at her loft, and all had failed. It was time she took the pearl somewhere else and tried.

The idea had been building ever since she’d threatened the pearl with replacement if it did not drink the compound mixture. Theoretically, it was likely one of the most gruesome sights a pearl could witness. However, all accounts showed that pearls did not fear shattering, like any real gem did. Peridot supposed she would have to see for herself.

Getting into the processing plant was a simple matter of blackmailing the Fluorite at the entrance and bribing the Sodalites guarding the inner doors. It wasn’t long before Peridot stood in front of the impound machine. Pearls waiting to be shattered between the thick steel plates sat atop the conveyor belt. Similar to every other pearl she’d ever seen, these remained motionless.

Peridot withdrew her pearl from the lead-lined pocket of her jacket and set it down. “Pearl, come out here.”

The pearl formed, and to Peridot’s chagrin, it didn’t even react at the different environment. Its eyes moved around the large chamber, before finally settling on Peridot as though awaiting an order. It had barely even glanced toward the other pearls.

Peridot pointed toward the conveyor belt. “Watch them,” she ordered, and pearl was quick to obey.

The green gem left her pearl there and went into a room where a Sodalite was waiting. A moderately-sized screen showed the room she’d just left, where her pearl stood watching the others.

Peridot waited a moment, then when nothing happened, she nodded to Sodalite. “Go ahead.”

A few keys were pressed and a lever pulled, and the conveyor belt slowly began to inch its way forward

Peridot’s eyes remained locked on pearl’s face. There was a loud _CLANG_ as the first pearl in line was crushed between the plates. There was no visible reaction from Pearl.

Narrowing her eyes, Peridot input a few commands and the holo-screen zoomed in on Pearl’s face.

_CLANG_.

The second was gone. No hatred or anger or sorrow or even fear that Peridot could see.

_CLANG._

A puff of dust from the crushed pearl billowed into Pearl’s face. It didn’t even wince.

_CLANG_.

Her pearl was literally watching others of its kind get crushed into a fine powder. The pearls were _dying_ , and her pearl only stared.

“I don’t know what you were expecting,” Sodalite said tersely. “It’s a pearl, they don’t care about anything other than pleasing their owners.”

_CLANG_.

That was the last one. Pearl didn’t blink. With a frustrated sigh, Peridot muttered, “Well, thanks anyway.” She went in and collected her pearl, then left without so much as a farewell to Sodalite.

Was her pearl defective, and just didn’t have emotions? Peridot couldn’t think of any other reason why it wouldn’t react to that. Then again… pearls never reacted to being processed, so everyone said. Now that she had seen it, Peridot supposed she had to conclude that as factual. But what else could she do? There had to be something.

Eventually, Peridot sat on a bench outside of one of the main shopping plazas. Gems passed by here and there, some in groups, others alone. Most that had pearls with them kept the servants as close as possible. No surprise. Pearl theft was still a huge problem, even with the rumor of a virus infecting pearls still swirling around in paranoid circles. Ignorant clods.

She watched the pearls idly. Peridot wasn’t exactly sure how a smile could have led to an obsession with learning about pearls, yet here she was. Pearls weren’t even particularly interesting creatures. They just stood there and did nothing unless asked.

What if… she had imagined the smile?

Peridot shook her head. Impossible. In all of her time since emerging, Peridot had never once made a mistake. Not even to herself.

Then a thought struck her. Perhaps Peridot had been approaching the topic from the wrong angle. After all, it was a very specific situation that had elicited such a reaction from the other pearl. Maybe…

Peridot smiled. She was certain she’d finally figured out the key.


	3. Hypothesis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would like to have the full impact of this chapter hit you, I suggest reading through [One Two Skip a Few](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5615704) first. It's not particularly long but it is quite entertaining, and it will introduce you to a key player this chapter.
> 
> Of note: Even though I take heavy inspiration from PTlikesTea's work, I do not presume to be adding anything canonically to their world they've made, so please don't take any of this story as such. It's simply an endeavor to try to explore some topics I find interesting, structured loosely within their version of Homeworld.
> 
> As always, if you enjoy what I've written, please let me know.

“I was surprised to get your message, 13-X. Since you cut out of the system, none of us have heard of you. Figured you were caught and shattered.”

Peridot looked at her and arched a brow. “You can’t be serious, 24-X.”

Peridot 24-X grinned. “Okay, yea, I’m not. But you never messaged or tried to get in touch. It was _like_ you shattered.”

“That _is_ the point of deleting oneself from the holo-network, you know. Anonymity and not being found and all of that,” Peridot said wryly.

“Well, then what made you contact me now? And why tell me to not bring the others? I’m sure they would like to see you too,” Peridot 24-X said, tilting her head a bit.

“You were always my favorite of our section mates, and I wanted to show you two new acquisitions of mine,” Peridot replied smoothly. She leaned in a bit closer and added, “One of them isn’t exactly _legal_ though. Have somewhere private to catch up?”

When she pulled back, she noticed Peridot 24-X’s eyes were shining brightly, and she wore a conspiratory grin. “I know _just_ the place.”

Peridot 24-X led her to a room secluded away from the workstations. Peridot noted that they didn’t pass by anyone else as they walked, concluding that most of them must have been sent off to deal with prepping the most recent planet located by Yellow Diamond for a kindergarten. “Any reason why you were left behind?”

“My gem had a crack when the ship was deployed. By the time it was patched, they’d all been sent out. 56-X is somewhere around here too, to maintain partial output. The others are set to come back in about seven cycles though.”

They entered the room, and the first thing Peridot noticed was the pearl standing in the corner. Oh no, that would not do. “Where’d the pearl come from?”

“It’s mine!” Peridot 24-X said proudly, puffing up her chest. At Peridot’s deadpan look, she faltered and added, “And… 17-X’s, 22-X’s, 31-X’s, and 35-X’s. We share.”

“Well make her shut down. You know pearls can record any audio and visual data they are in range of as long as they are conscious. I don’t want proof of this getting out.”

With a laugh, Peridot 24-X teased, “Holy Core, I didn’t realize you would get so paranoid after leaving.”

Peridot didn’t reply, simply waited and crossed her arms.

“Bah, no fun. Alright fine.” Peridot 24-X turned to the pearl and nodded at her. “You heard the gem. I want you to dematerialize. And don’t come back out until I tell you to, got it?”

Rather than respond, the pearl’s body was enveloped in light, before vanishing into her gem.

“So, what was it you wanted to show me?”

Peridot pulled her pearl from the lead-lined pocket and said, “Come out here.”

As the pearl formed, Peridot 24-X scrunched up her face. “Wait, so you made me get rid of my pearl, but you can have _your_ pearl out? How is that fair?”

“I had my pearl’s recording functions removed,” Peridot lied calmly. “Like I said, I don’t want to leave any traces of my whereabouts. However, I figured you would appreciate my pearl. It’s still fairly new.”

“I’ll say,” Peridot 24-X replied, circling the pearl. “I love its hair. I wish I knew how they got the new line to have such dark colors for it, instead of just pastels. It looks so pretty.” She turned to Peridot. “How in Core’s name did you afford it?”

“Working illegally has its perks.”

She nodded. Then a delighted expression crossed her features. “Speaking of, what was that illegal thing you wanted to show me? It can’t be the pearl—it’s too new to have come from the black market.”

Smiling mostly to herself, Peridot removed the gem destabilizer from a compartment in her leg enhancer. “Found this on the black market. It only had a broken filament, and I was able to get it repaired pretty easily.”

Peridot 24-X’s eyes grew wide with awe. “Wow… I’ve never seen one so close before.” She looked up at Peridot. “And you said it works?”

The smile widened. “Of course, would you like to see?”

She nodded eagerly, oblivious to the meaning behind Peridot’s words. Quick as the crack of an Agate’s whip, Peridot pressed the button on the side and the weapon jolted to life. She launched toward 24-X with it, catching her center mass.

The peridot’s pupils shrank to pinpricks as her form began to break apart. Generally speaking, peridots might have been an extremely resilient gem type, though they still couldn’t hope to withstand a destabilizer. With a pop, her body receded, and Peridot caught the gem before it could fall to the floor.

She looked at her pearl, and to her disappointment, there was no visible reaction. “Nothing to say?”

“What would you have me say?” Pearl asked, its voice as monotone as ever.

Peridot smiled. “Oh, you don’t have to say anything.” She set Peridot 24-X’s gem down on the small table in the corner of the room. From her other leg enhancer, she withdrew a simple hammer. Peridot held it out to her pearl, and her smile grew. “I want you to shatter the gem on the table.”

Pearl’s face remained blank. It approached the table and held the hammer aloft. “Are you certain?”

Peridot tilted her head, curiosity dancing across her features. “Are you questioning my order?”

As a response, Pearl reached out to hold the gem steady, then brought the hammer crashing down onto it. The peridot instantly shattered, shards flying every which way. Peridot paid them no mind. Her eyes were locked on Pearl’s face.

Nothing.

Peridot closed her eyes. She had been _so certain_ that this was the answer. Killing another gem had been what triggered Hematite’s pearl. Why hadn’t it worked on her own pearl? It made no sense!

She let out a frustrated sigh and peered around the room, noting the fragments of gem and glittering green dust that were literally everywhere. It was then that her eyes caught sight of the pearl on the floor. It was still waiting for 24-X’s approval to reform.

Peridot hummed thoughtfully and walked over to it. Leaning down, she scooped it up and twisted it back and forth, watching its dull shimmer in the light. Peridot looked over at her pearl, who was looking back at her with a bored expression.

Her smile returned, and Peridot sauntered over to the table; it was still covered in bits of green gem. She set it right where the peridot had been before. “Smash the pearl I just placed on the table.”

Still no shift in expression as Pearl raised the hammer. It reached out a hand to grab the gem and hold it steady.

Something compelled Peridot to speak. “No. Don’t touch it.”

_THERE!_

Pearl’s eyes widened a fraction, and two of the fingers on its outstretched hand twitched. If Peridot hadn’t been paying extremely close attention to every movement her pearl made, she would have missed it.

A second later the hammer came down.

* * *

 

Peridot had ordered Pearl to deform shortly after the shatterings were committed. It had then taken her the better part of three quadrants to clean up every speck of peridot or pearl particles that lined the room. She’d left the building once finished, and a quick hack into the holo-network used to record data from the grounds allowed her to delete any footage of herself. It was as though she’d never been there in the first place.

One she was safely back in her loft, she placed Pearl in a lead-lined pouch to keep her from forming and began to record all of her findings of the day.

The green gem was still feeling that euphoric sense of accomplishment at getting the pearl to react in some way. True, it had taken quite a long time to even get the smallest flicker of emotion, but it was finally _something_. It proved that Peridot had seen the smile on Hematite’s pearl, and it lent itself to the hypothesis that pearls _were_ capable of something beyond serving their owners.

Honestly, Peridot was a bit annoyed with herself that she hadn’t thought of it before. Other than the time she’d taken Pearl to the processing plant, Peridot hadn’t allowed it to interact with other pearls at all. Yet contact with another pearl had achieved in seconds what she hadn’t able to produce in nearly an orbit of testing.

She leaned back from her notes and glanced over at the pouch containing her pearl. Peridot still wasn’t sure what had actually _caused_ the reaction—or rather, she knew what caused it, she just didn’t know _why_.

Pearl hadn’t flinched when ordered to shatter the peridot. It didn’t hesitate or frown when ordered to break the other pearl. Only when it was told not to touch the pearl, did it react. What did contact have to do with the matter?

Her pearl was not a particularly sentimental creature, of that she was certain. Before at the plant, it had not reacted to other pearls being processed. No eye’s widening or fingers twitching—Peridot had been looking closely, and she would not have missed such an act. So what could have possibly made this time different? Furthermore, if pearls _did_ have some sort of contact-based interaction with other pearls, how could they possibly keep it hidden from their owners? Peridot had certainly never seen pearls touch each other.

She jotted down a few more notes, then stood and made her way to the pouch. Peridot removed the pearl and set it aside, then said, “Come out, pearl.”

The pearl did so, its ever-present blank look settled across its face.

“Tell me, do you know why I asked you to shatter those gems?”

Pearl shook its head.

Peridot hummed, a thoughtful expression crossing her features. “Let me ask you this then: do you know why I’ve been giving you all of these unusual requests since I purchased you? Any theories? Be honest now.”

“I think you are either trying to learn something about me, or teach me to do something,” Pearl replied.

She nodded in approval. Many gems thought pearls were stupid, but over the course of the last orbit of observation, Peridot knew that wasn’t true. Pearls just didn’t express themselves aloud the way most intelligent gems did. “Were you upset what I told you not to touch the other pearl? Remember, we’re being honest with each other.”

“I…” surprisingly, Pearl hesitated. Peridot noticed its hands shift, then, “Yes.”

“You disliked the order I gave you?” Peridot clarified.

More hesitation, then the smallest of nods.

In all of the time she had owned the pearl, Peridot had never really tried to carry out a conversation with it. Before it had just seemed like a pointless endeavor. After all, she wouldn’t try to carry out a conversation with a chair, so why a pearl? Now that she knew there was more to pearls than what they portrayed, however…

“Why?”

Pearl’s right eye twitched, and its fingers spasmed. Finally, it shook his head.

“You don’t know why, or you aren’t going to tell me why?” Peridot questioned, lacing her fingers beneath her chin.

“The latter,” Pearl replied, its voice so quiet, Peridot almost didn’t catch the words.

She blinked. Peridot had never heard of a pearl refusing any order that wasn’t related to the consumption of matter. Her desire to know the answer suddenly grew exponentially. “Are you able to tell me why you aren’t going to tell me? You realize you’re refusing my demand, don’t you?”

Pearl’s mouth worked wordlessly for a moment, before it finally said, “I… don’t have… to. It’s not… not for gems.”

“Hmm.” Not for gems? Or not for gems that weren’t pearls. “Very well. Another question then: did it upset you when I took you to watch those pearls be processed?”

“No.”

“What about when I had you shattered 24-X’s pearl?”

“No.”

“No? So you take no issue with my orders to shatter other gems?”

Pearl shook its head.

Peridot mulled this over for a while. Not death, then. Contact. Or other pearls? Clearly, there was a connection that pearls shared in some way. One that allowed them to gain something from each other, yet not be bothered when they knew one of their own was going to die. Peridot wasn’t certain what sort of connection would allow a gem capable of thought—which she now knew pearls were—to not fear being shattered. Even the bravest jaspers still disliked the idea of being slain in battle.

“I have kept you—for the most part—locked up in my loft with me whenever you’ve formed. Does that upset you?”

“No. It is what you desire of me,” Pearl stated.

It was back to its subservient mode. “Return to your gem.”

She watched as the pearl deformed, then placed it into the lead-lined pouch once more. Peridot then turned to her holo-screen and replayed the recording of the conversation she’d just had with pearl.

After going through it no less than twelve times and taking any and all notes she could think of on the matter, one thing was very clear to Peridot: she needed to begin an experiment.


	4. Experiment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the events of the last chapter, I felt it was necessary to have a chapter that was a bit less... intense. Still, I like how this turned out, and I'd enjoy hearing any feedback you have on it. I'll admit, I've grown fond of this Lapis character. Might write a one-off with her in the future.
> 
> Also, kudos to anyone who can tell me where the musical instruments in this chapter are referenced from.

It was simple. If pearls did have some hidden capability to connect or communicate with each other, then allowing her pearl to be around other pearls should show some sign of it. Peridot would then only have to observe the results.

Almost immediately after she set out with her pearl for the first time, problems arose. For one, Pearl kept falling into the habit of walking behind Peridot. She supposed it was a function programmed into them, but Peridot wouldn’t be able to keep an eye out for the signs she was looking for if she couldn’t even see her pearl. Each time pearl began to fall behind, Peridot would pause and order it to walk beside her, under the pretext that she “didn’t want it to be stolen while she wasn’t looking”. A statement that altogether wasn’t entirely untruthful.

The next problem that came to light was the checkpoints. Peridot hadn’t ever realized how utterly _cumbersome_ they were, having never let Pearl form in public before. It was utterly ridiculous how much time was wasted waiting for gems to pry apart Pearl’s jaw and inspect its throat for some hidden “virus”. At the third such checkpoint in less than a quadrant of walking, Peridot had actually lost her temper with the Rutile performing the inspection for taking a bit longer than usual.

Another issue was just the utter lack of pearls. Most of the pearls present were kept on a tight leash at their owners’ side and weren’t still long enough for Peridot to observe any connection between them and her own.

Eventually Peridot located a Lazuli toting a pearl by her side and decided to approach her. The Lazuli was admiring a holophoner in a shop window. Peridot stepped in line with her so that their pearls were side-by-side. “Is this the new model?” Peridot asked aloud.

The Lazuli jumped a bit upon hearing another gem. “Wha—oh. Umm… yea.” She looked over at Peridot, her brows knitting together in confusion. “Are you interested in music?”

Peridot kept the pearls in her peripheral vision. “As much as the next gem,” she said, despite having absolutely zero interest in the subject. “Though, I suppose I am in the minority when I say that I’ve always preferred the holophoner over other instruments, such as the symphonaria or turin.”

Lapis turned to her fully. “Oh no I agree completely! There is just something so…” she waved her hand expressively, “about being able to manifest a visual representation of what the music means.”

Peridot watched the pearls. Nothing from either of them thus far. “Granted, one of the main arguments against the holophoner is that it takes away from the audience’s ability to glean their own meaning from the music.”

Rolling her eyes, the Lazuli said, “Please. The composer will ninety-nine percent of the time have a better imagination and knowledge on what a song means over another gem that just listens to it. I mean, when composing a song, most lazulis put their _core_ into it.”

The pearl’s eyelids drooped a hairsbreadth of a fraction. Her pearl’s littlest finger on its right hand twitched, almost as if in response. “I concur. Are you planning to purchase the holophoner in the window, then?”

Shaking her head, the Lapis said, “I can’t afford it, unfortunately. I have an old model right now, but it jams sometimes… it’s nice to come here and just… I don’t know. Imagine what it would be like to buy a new one?”

Now that Peridot knew what to look for, she could see each subtle movement the pearls made. It was actually alarming how much they were able to do without it being detected by other gems. Since they’d started, neither had ceased their miniscule gestures. “Yes, I can understand what you mean.”

“Is that how you felt before getting your pearl? I’ve never seen a peridot with one before.”

Peridot’s eyes actually shifted to pearl’s face at the mention, before drifting back to Lapis. “Err… indeed. It took quite a bit of saving to buy it.”

Lapis sighed. “It’s in such nice condition too.” She glanced back toward the instrument on display in the window, let out another wistful sigh, then said, “Well, it was nice speaking with you, Peridot. I’m afraid I have something else to attend to, though.”

She turned away, and the other pearl turned with her. Peridot caught her pearl’s fingers twist one last time, before all of its movements stilled. Curious.

Following the conversation with the lapis lazuli, Peridot struck up three more conversations with an Almandine, Chalcedony, and Sodalite respectively. Each with their own pearl. Almandine barely spared her a few comments before moving on. Peridot and the Chalcedony actually _had_ managed to spark an interesting debate about the holo-network and its reliability. Peridot was amused when she realized that the Sodalite was one she’d caught fusing with a Citrine while scrolling through video files on her holo-screen one day, not that she felt the need to bring it up at the moment.

What she _was_ curious to note, was that no matter how brief or long her conversations were with each gem, Pearl and the other pearl present always managed to make movements at each other. It was difficult containing her observations just to her peripheral vision.

For thirty cycles she repeated these silent tests and observations of her pearl. Sometimes, Peridot would strike up conversations between gems and watch their pearls interact. Other times, she would ride a transit vehicle for long periods of time, taking note of the minute gestures her pearl made, and which pearls riding on the vehicle responded.

After a time, Peridot believed she had even begun to pick up on some of the meanings behind the movements.

For instance, a slight eyelid droop was some sort of greeting, and there were one of two possible responses: either a twitch of the small finger on the right hand, or a faint shift of the left eye accompanied by a very small exhale.

Similarly, fluttering both of its index fingers seemed to prelude some sort of comment about the pearl’s owner. Peridot only knew this because whenever her pearl made this motion, the other pearl’s eyes would shift the tiniest bit in her direction.

There was one gesture that had the left hand twist into the body, followed by the right hand turn away from the body. Strangely, this motion did not prompt a response from the second pearl. Rather, after a few seconds the original pearl’s pupils would dilate a fraction. Peridot had absolutely no idea what this meant.

A slow half-blink was often produced by the other pearls, rarely her own. However, her pearl would usually respond with a slight dip of its head to the left. After such actions, there would be a period of time where no gestures occurred and the pearls stood completely still, before finally resuming their hidden conversations.

It was astounding to Peridot. Unbeknownst to their owners—unbeknownst to every single gem on Homeworld—pearls carried out entire conversations with each other. In her time watching her pearl communicate with others, Peridot had observed well over ten thousand different gestures, and she could probably only guess to the meaning of less than a hundred of them. It positively boggled her mind.

It was late one cycle, while pearl was safely stored in her pouch and Peridot was pouring over all of the notes she’d taken over the course of her studies, that Peridot realized she had not only accomplished what she’d originally set out to discover but learned so much more than she could have ever bargained for.

As with all things though, Peridot eventually grew bored of it all. She’d learned as much as she could from observing the pearls speak in private—she’d even managed to make rough translations of many of the gestures. But Peridot had hit a dead end.

She wouldn’t ask her pearl about it. Peridot was certain that if pearl knew Peridot had figured it out, she would clamp up, possibly even refuse to speak to another pearl again. That wouldn’t do.

The next logical step to take actually came to her while she was resting. Peridot fell out of her rest pod in her moment of blind inspiration, rushing over to her holo-screen and searching through log files at a rapid pace.

“It’s so obvious. I know the results of the experiment, I know the answer to the question posed: it’s time to analyze the consequences of a controlled variation.”

She eventually found the recording and information she was searching for, then sent it—as well as a message—through an encrypted channel that couldn’t be traced back to her. The recipient responded immediately, offering only an address.

Peridot smiled.


End file.
